This image of the heart is taken directly from the Visual Dictionary Online (http://visual.merriam-webster.com/about-visual_overview.php) , a tool I found when I was doing some basic research about visual literacy. It's very competent learning tool that verbally and visually defines a word. It's really cool, especially for a learner who may respond to both the verbal and visual cues this provides.I think this type of resources is essential to the next step in e-learning. If I were teaching an online sports injury course I would be able to pull these images and show the injury to the exact bone or muscle and the students would be able to look up these images as well.
In class on Monday we talked about the importance of visual support for learners and how to create some effective images. What do you all think about this tool? (Be sure to check out the "themes" on the link...all kinds of cool stuff!) Would you use something like this as a student or as a teacher? What other types of online visual aids have you found that support learning?
I look forward to reading your responses!
I spent some time looking at the various definitions in the visual dictionary. It really offers a multi-faceted approach to defining a whole topic. For instance, I have always wanted to be a high school track coach. Some events such as the long jump have many components that need to be understood, in detail, in order to execute this event effectively. This dictionary broke out the elements of the jumper's course graphically. This is different than watching an elete athelete on TV or YouTube perform the event. It allows for a deep understanding of what the student would encounter mentally through each phase. This allows for proper distribution of energy at the correct point along the course's acceleration run, take off, mid-air form and landing into the sandpit. This can be discussed quietly with the student so that they can envision themselves traveling through the exercise with good technique. This is a different way to break down a difficult topic into visual and understandable steps. This was a very useful blog that I plan to use to illustrate topics in my trainings.
ReplyDeleteJen, that is such a great site. I spent quite a long time looking through some of the information of interest to me. I have saved the site to my favorites and plan to use it in my future studies and research.
ReplyDeleteI think it would make a great tool to recommend to students to use. I would definitely use it as a teaching tool.
I have not come across too many sites that provide such a complete (including visual) informational background.
Thanks for sharing!
I'm glad this has been helpful so far. I know I will definitely be using the anatomy stuff in my future as well!
ReplyDeleteJen,
ReplyDeleteI think this sort of thing is fantastic! I remember the dictionaries of my youth the included a somewhat detailed explanation of the definition but all too often didn't provide a very basic pictorial representation of the term. A dictionary like this would have benefited me tremendously when trying to understand concepts that were foreign.
As you pointed out in your insightful posting this sort of thing is essential to certain fields like Athletic Training and other health science occupations. Being skilled in the area of visual literacy could provide students like ourselves potential career opportunities like what Dr. Wilcox did at Cal-Q-Tax creating detailed illustrations.
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ReplyDeleteJen, this was a really insightful post. I did not know something like this existed, but it could definitely serve as a resource for eLearning. Like Jackie I took a few minutes and start typing in random words to see what would come up. I was surprised by how well the visual depiction was actually helped me to better understand the concept or tool (i.e: I typed in motherboard, and it showed me all the parts of a computer motherboard.) In class we talked about how important it is to have clear visual depictions for learners. On the eLearning side of things, this tool could be used as a guide to do just that. Depending on subject matter and nature, I think it would be a great teaching tool for learners of every age. Like your example, a visual depiction would make it much easier to teach someone how the heart works rather than just a text filled powerpoint or other computer-based training tool. I look forward to using this in the future!
ReplyDeleteFun!Fun!Fun! This is a site I could spend an hour just looking at different terms. I searched for "miter saw" and it did not come up, but once I found the Theme listing on the left side, that helped tremendously, and I was able to find my saw :-). When I go shopping for a new tool, or talking to a contractor about something being done to the house, I like to be comfortable with the terminology, as I would imagne Jen would feel the same way talking medical stuff to an athlete. I can see myself using this as a "one stop" reference point vs. searching on the web and getting several responses. Another point for the medical side, I appreciate the pronounication feature too.
ReplyDeleteGreat reference Jen!